After beating the reigning Stanley Cup Champion Florida Panthers on Thursday, the New Jersey Devils (4-1-0, 2nd Metropolitan) beat the runner-up Edmonton Oilers (2-2-1, 4th Pacific) 5-3 in front of the home fan on Saturday.. Edmonton put up a strong fight, but they couldn’t match the Devils’ scoring touch.
First Period
Both teams spent the first few minutes of the game chasing the puck, with neutral zone turnovers preventing either squad from getting a good start. All alone on the forecheck, Dawson Mercer got called for an errant high stick, giving the Oilers their first power play opportunity of the game. The Devils’ strong penalty kill held firm, leaving Edmonton without a shot on goal with the man-advantage.
The Oilers came back with momentum after wasting their power play chance, generating pressure in the Devils’ zone. Whenever New Jersey seemed to clear the zone, the Oilers would force a turnover in the neutral zone or quickly clear the puck from their end to start the attack again. Jake Allen had to make a few key saves as a result, keeping the Devils in the game. The Devils’ defense also stopped some of the more dangerous plays, with Jonas Siegenthaler laying out to break up Andrew Mangiapane’s pass on a two-on-one.
The Hischier line finally had the Devils’ first good shift of the game midway through the period, getting the team’s first shots through on Calvin Pickard. Now, Edmonton found themselves on the defensive. Jack Hughes built on the momentum by drawing a tripping call on Ryan Nugent-Hopkins. Like the Oilers, however, New Jersey couldn’t manage a shot on the power play.
With the clock winding down, the Devils had a final offensive burst on a Leon Draisaitl turnover that led to chaos in front of the Oilers’ net. Pickard made a quick series of saves and forced a rebound towards the blue line and out of danger. The Devils attempted a final rush, but ultimately had to settle for a 0-0 tie to end the period.
The Devils were lucky to escape the first period tied with the Oilers, managing just four shots and a 29.55 expected goals for percentage (xG%).
Second Period
The Devils got out to a fast start in the second period, stringing a few good shifts together with strong pressure and good chances on Pickard. A tripping call on Jesper Bratt killed this momentum, though, giving the Oilers another shot with the extra man.
Despite a much stronger effort with more chances on their second power play, Edmonton couldn’t put one past Jake Allen. The Oilers held the offensive zone as the power play ended, but New Jersey quickly went on the attack with numbers once Jesper Bratt got back into the play.
The Devils continued to hold the momentum for the next few minutes, stripping the puck from the Oilers almost every time they gained possession. Jack Hughes finally broke the ice midway through the period, receiving a tape-to-tape pass from Brett Pesce in the neutral zone, cutting through three Edmonton defenders, and snapping a perfectly-placed shot off the bar and in past Pickard. It was Hughes’ second goal in the last two games.
Nico Hischier had the next high-danger chance, slicing through Edmonton’s zone but getting held by Mattias Ekholm. This sent Hischier crashing into Pickard, resulting in a holding penalty for Ekholm. Jesper Bratt didn’t waste any time on the power play, getting the puck off the faceoff, going to his backhand, and burying it past a shaken Pickard.
The ice was tilted the Devils’ way up two goals with time winding down in the period. They say the two-goal lead is the most dangerous in hockey, and the Devils proved that right with just a couple of minutes remaining. Ryan Nugent-Hopkins snuck near the crease on an innocent-looking play and pounced on a pass from Connor McDavid, snapping one home to put the Oilers on the board.
The Devils played a strong second period overall, earning a 55.56 Corsi-for percentage at five-on-five. That goal from the Oilers left a bad taste in their mouths, though.
Third Period
Edmonton carried its momentum to end the second period into the start of the third, playing less panicked hockey and preventing the Devils from generating any real pressure. They got their best chance to even the score with a power play 10 minutes into the period.
The Devils struggled to clear the puck on the opening shift of the kill. Luke Glendening desperately batted at the puck to try and ease the pressure, but missed and fell to the ice. Connor Brown pounced on the puck as it drifted lazily in the Devils’ zone. He then put on a burst of speed to get behind the one Oiler in his way, motored in on a clean breakaway, and fooled Pickard to give the Devils a 3-1 lead.
Jack Hughes joined the party again just a couple of minutes later with his second goal of the game to give the Devils a three-goal lead. Jesper Bratt set the play up with a turnover on the forecheck. He passed it to a wide-open Hughes, who puck-handled a bit in front of the crease before tallying the Devils’ fourth goal of the day.
The Oilers pulled Calvin Pickard soon after Hughes’ goal and hemmed the Devils in with the extra attacker on. It would be Nugent-Hopkins again, snapping home a goal with the extra man to bring Edmonton within two. The Devils weren’t about to surrender the win, however, and Dawson Mercer scored an empty-netter to ice it. There was still time for former Devil Curtis Lazar to score a garbage-time goal with three seconds to play, but not enough to affect the outcome.
Edmonton managed to get more scoring chances than the Devils in the third period, but they couldn’t keep up with the finishing ability on display by Brown, Hughes, and Mercer.
Results
Though they didn’t control the game from start to finish, the Devils walked away with a convincing 5-3 win over the reigning Western Conference Champion Oilers. This marks their fourth straight win and second straight win over a reigning conference champion.
Game Notes
- Jack Hughes had another great game after scoring his first goal of the season against Florida. He scored twice Sunday, both electric goals. He showed off his speed and skating ability on the first goal, slicing through the Oilers’ defense on a single-handed effort. He showed off his hands and shooting ability on the second goal, waiting patiently after receiving the puck and wristing it home past a helpless Pickard. He also added an assist on Jesper Bratt’s power play goal. Hughes did all this despite his line finishing with a 41.67 CF% and a 49.55 xG% at five-on-five. It was his finishing ability that made all the difference.
- The Cody Glass line played great, earning a 78.95 CF% and a 67.07 xG% at five-on-five. It was the only line to finish with those numbers above the 50% mark. In a game that saw the Oilers control a majority of the scoring chances, the third line generated some great high-danger chances.
- While New Jersey only managed 23 shots on the day, their finishing ability was the story. Excluding the empty-netter, they notched an 18.1 shooting percentage (SH%), an excellent marker. This was similar to their game against Florida, where they only managed a 45.56 CF%, but earned the win off an 18.75 SH%. Ideally, New Jersey will want to control more of the scoring chances in future games, but it’s good to know that they can finish on the chances they do get.
Up Next
The Devils will take on the Maple Leafs in Toronto on Tuesday at 7:00 pm ET.